At least 118 children were abducted from Ireland or brought into it illegally during 1999, according to figures released by the Department of Justice. But the number of abductions, typically arising from disputes between parents over custody, were well down on previous years.
The annual statistics of the Central Authority for Child Abduction, based in the Department, show 73 new cases last year, involving 118 children. Including the number carried over from the previous year, the authority dealt with a total of 106 cases during 1999.
Two thirds of the abductions involved children being brought into Ireland, usually from Britain. Britain is also the destination for the biggest number of abductions from the State, while the US, with 16 cases in 1999, is the next most significant country.
Under the Hague and Luxembourg conventions, the authority has the power to facilitate the return of children taken from one contracting state to another against the wishes of a parent with custody rights, or to enforce a custody or access order granted in another state.
In 31 of the abduction cases dealt with last year - 17 of them involving children being brought into Ireland - courts here and in other states ordered the return of the children.
